Esquire: Somehow Republicans Are Defending Kristi Noem After the Forceful Removal of Senator Alex Padilla

I thought assaulting someone holding federal office was a crime. Not anymore, apparently.

So, apparently we’re bum-rushing US senators now. From The Guardian:

In video taken of the incident that has since gone viral on social media, Padilla is seen being restrained and removed from the room by Secret Service agents.“I’m Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,” Padilla shouts, as he struggles to move past the men removing him from the premises. “Hands off!” he says at one point.Emerging afterward, Padilla, who is the ranking member of the judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship and border safety, said he and his colleagues had repeatedly asked DHS for more information on its “increasingly extreme immigration enforcement actions” but had not received a response to his inquiries.

This tinhorn governor of a state where nobody lives, this puppy-murdering hack whose political career outside of MAGA World was as dead as Custer, now gets to sic her black-shirted thugs on the senior senator of a state that she and her criminal boss and all their attendant lords have been lying about, and about which she had flown to Los Angeles to lie about some more.

Dumbass in a ballcap says what? She just admitted they’re blowing up the town to get rid of the mayor and governor. If the courts ever get their teeth back, this gaffe will figure prominently in many filings.

Meanwhile, Padilla is hauled into a backroom and driven to the floor and handcuffed.

And not for nothing, but threatening and/or assaulting the holder of any federal office is a felony and could draw you five to ten in the pokey. And these goons are pretty identifiable.

And, of course, the administration’s prevarication mill went into full operation almost instantly. From The New Republic via Yahoo:

In posts on X, the official DHS account and Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin released a statement attempting to justify wrestling Padilla to the ground and handcuffing him. “Senator Padilla chose disrespectful political theatre and interrupted a live press conference without identifying himself or having his Senate security pin on as he lunged toward Secretary Noem,” the statement read.

Tricia learned to lie like this at the AEI’s Leadership Institute.

But in a video of the altercation from Padilla’s office, the senator could be heard clearly identifying himself. “Hands off! I’m Senator Alex Padilla, and I have questions for the secretary,” said the California Democrat as a security guard pushed him out of the room.

It’s clear that the goons looked at him and just saw another angry brown face. And by their reactions, Tricia and her boss are similarly afflicted.

This is also all my bollocks. Noem knows who Padilla is and, if she doesn’t, she should, and he did identify himself. Third-rate hack with a fourth-rate alibi.

And what about Speaker Moses? What did you expect?

That sanctimonious sumbitch wants Padilla censured. And he spent the afternoon hiding. If he’s a Christian, I’m an Ostrogoth.

The day was not without its burlesque, however. In a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Maxwell Frost asked Chairman James (Jughead) Comer to issue a subpoena for Noem regarding the events of the day. Comer, of course, refused, probably because Padilla was not carrying Hunter Biden’s laptop at the time. And then we were off.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a65058840/senator-padilla-kristi-noem-james-comer-marjorie-taylor-greene

Newsweek: Student in US since childhood detained by ICE day before birthday

A student who has been in the United States since childhood was detained by federal immigration authorities on the day before his birthday.

Derrick Ozamah, 26, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents alongside his mother, Veronica Ozamah, outside of their home in Tucson, Arizona, just as they were about to leave to run errands on June 5.

His wife, Clara Fuentes Cervantes, 25, told Newsweek that five unmarked vehicles arrived at their residence, and plainclothes officers detained her husband and mother-in-law. She said that ICE agents did not present a warrant, and they acted intimidating.

“I was taken by surprise, and I’m stressed, and I feel like I can’t do anything. I feel like I’m just stuck in a box, and I just feel like I can’t do much,” Clara said.

Derrick, who arrived in the U.S. in 2016 on a student visa, studied at Iona College in New York before transferring to the University of Arizona, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in architecture.

Initially planning to pursue his master’s at Arizona as well, he had to reconsider his path due to budget cuts at the university. This led him to apply to other institutions, ultimately earning acceptance into the master’s program for Environmental Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is currently enrolled.

Clara is currently studying to become a doctor and has been living in Tucson for two months. As Derrick remains in detention, Clara remains committed to fighting for his release and urging the public to see the human impact behind immigration policies.

https://www.newsweek.com/derrick-ozamah-detained-ice-birthday-2084080

USA Today: ‘We have to try lifting ourselves’: USAID workers fired months ago are still scrambling for jobs

They were among the first of the federal employees to lose their jobs, and months later, laid off workers for the U.S. Agency for International Development are still struggling to regain their footing.

Roughly 95% said they had lost savings and retirement funds, 60% lost access to health care, and 37% have already lost their housing. Many said they will have trouble paying their bills in the coming months. 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/19/usaid-workers-next-job/83332416007

Explicame: Trump proposes $50 tax on every $1,000 sent in remittances

Also billed as the Republican’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” and bullshit like this subtitle:

… the bill actually continues tax cuts for the wealthy on the backs of the working poor, those living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck. Buried starting at page 327 of 389 is a new 5% tax on remittances sent to family & friends overseas. This 5% tax is on top of the income taxes and the 15.3% (yes, the actual amount is twice the deduction that appears on your check stubs!) social security and medicare taxes that the sender has already paid, plus 2-4% in currency exchange fees.


Amidst the buzz surrounding the ambitious fiscal plan revealed by Republicans this week, a particular proposal has flown under the radar yet holds the potential to severely impact millions of workers and their families both within and outside the United States: a new tax on remittances sent abroad, costing up to $50 each month.

This initiative is part of the ‘ways and means bills,’ as termed by lawmakers aligned with President Donald Trump. The legislative package seeks to extend and expand tax exemptions implemented during his first term while introducing a series of public spending cuts. However, among the numerous provisions, the remittance tax stands out for its immediate and silent social impact.

The proposal specifically calls for a 5% tax on remittances sent from the United States. This levy would fall on the sender, meaning the worker in the U.S. who sends money to their home country to support loved ones, with an amount of $50 for every $1,000 sent.

With this tax, a monthly transfer of $300 could cost the worker an additional $15 in taxes, a figure that may seem small in macroeconomic terms but represents a significant expense for households living paycheck to paycheck.

https://www.explica.me/en/News/Trump-proposes-50-tax-on-every-1000-sent-in-remittances-20250516-0016.html


https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/05/14/gops-big-beautiful-bill-would-tax-payments-that-many-immigrants-send-back-home


Apparently there are a few Republicans who think the bill is not so big and beautiful.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5304927-trump-agenda-shaky-congress